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O 


LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OF" 


Accession       96809  Class 


Charles  Ibolls 


A  MEMOIR 


BY 

HENRY  BARNARD,  LL.D.,  L.H.D. 

Late  Editor  of  Barnard's  American  Journal  of  Education 
First  United  Slates  Commissioner  of  Education 


PRIVATELY  PRINTED 


preface 

THIS  memoir  of  my  father  was  prepared  by 
the  late  Dr.  Henry  Barnard  in  1888,  and 
was  intended  by  him  to  appear  in  what  was 
to  be  the  final  number  of  his  great  American 
Journal  of  Education.  It  was,  in  fact, 
printed,  as  pages  403  to  414  of  that  number, 
and  the  present  edition  is  a  reprint  of  ad- 
vance sheets  kindly  furnished  to  me,  with  a 
few  manuscript  corrections,  by  the  author. 
So  long  as  there  was  the  slightest  hope  of 
completing  the  final  volume  of  his  Journal, 
Dr.  Barnard  preferred  that  this  memoir 
should  not  appear  in  separate  form.  His 
death,  on  July  5,  1900,  has  removed  the 
last  reason  for  hesitation  or  delay,  and  the 
memoir  is  now  offered  to  the  friends  of  my 
father,  exactly  as  it  was  written. 

[3] 


96809 


Those  who  know  the  numerous  writings 
of  Dr.  Barnard — in  many  respects  the  fore- 
most American  educator  of  the  nineteenth 
century  —  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  given  to  groundless  eulogy  or  perfunc- 
tory commendation.  In  consequence,  this 
most  generous  and  affectionate  tribute  has 
an  interest  which  may  perhaps  appeal  to  a 
wider  circle  than  those  who  knew  my  father 
personally.  It  is,  at  all  events,  a  noble  and 
enduring  memorial  to  the  sincere  friendship 
between  two  men,  who,  differing  widely  in 
most  respects,  were  united  in  their  self-sacri- 
ficing devotion  to  the  same  lofty  ideals. 

FEEDEEICK  W.  HOLLS. 

Algonak,  Yonkers,  New  York, 
February  26,  1901. 


(Beoroe  Charles  Ibolte 


the  history  of  education  in  the 
United  States  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  secular  element  largely 
preponderates,  and  the  pioneers  in  organiza- 
tion or  administration  have  generally  been 
connected  either  with  the  puhlic-school 
system,  or  with  the  higher  educational  and 
charitable  institutions  maintained  by  muni- 
cipalities or  States,  and,  in  consequence, 
entirely  independent  of  any  church  or  de- 
nomination. But,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
ranks  of  Eeligion,  closely  identified  with 
particular  denominations,  there  have  been 

[5] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolls 

not  a  few  to  whom  doctrines  and  dogmas 
were  subordinate  to  the  active  work  of  edu- 
cation, and  especially  of  charity,  and  whose 
influence,  while  to  a  certain  extent  circum- 
scribed by  the  bounds  of  their  own  church, 
has  yet  extended  far  beyond  these  limits, 
and  who  are  entitled  to  by  no  means  the 
least  honorable  positions  in  the  roll  of  honor 
of  American  educators. 

Among  Protestant  denominations  in  this 
country,  the  Lutheran  Church  has  risen  most 
rapidly  to  prominence,  at  least  in  the  num- 
ber of  its  adherents.  It  is  now  the  third 
in  this  respect  and  bids  fair  to  maintain  this 
position.  Modest  and  unassuming,  so  far  as 
self-advertisement  and  self-assertion  is  con- 
cerned, it  has  done  and  is  doing  a  great 
work  in  educating  millions  of  our  naturalized 
citizens  and  their  descendants,  and  it  has 
been  the  means  of  acquainting  this  country 
with  much  that  is  best  in  German  educa- 

[6] 


a  fIDemoir 


tional  thought  and  the  organization  of  char- 
ity. No  one  man  has  contributed  more  to 
this  end  than  the  distinguished  philanthropist 
whose  portrait  precedes  this  necessarily  brief 
sketch,  and  who,  by  his  powerful  thought 
and  active  and  untiring  labor  in  his  chosen 
field,  has  won  for  himself  a  prominent  place 
in  the  history  of  American  education  and 
charities. 

George  Charles  Holls  was  born  in  Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  on  February  26,  1824,  and 
belonged  to  an  old  and  highly  respected 
family.  His  father  served  with  distinction 
in  the  German  war  of  liberation  against 
Napoleon,  but  the  moderate  fortune  of  the 
family  was  lost  in  the  financial  distress  at- 
tendant upon  the  war.  The  father  was 
afterward  appointed  superintendent  of  gov- 
ernmental charities  for  the  city  of  Darmstadt 
and  province  of  Starkenburg,  and  thus  the 
earliest  impressions  of  the  son  were  asso- 

[7] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolte 

ciated  with  the  dispensation  of  charity.  The 
father  died  in  1830,  and  the  task  of  educat- 
ing his  three  children  devolved  upon  his 
widow,  a  most  remarkable  woman,  to  whose 
loving  influence  and  energy  alone  Dr.  Holls 
was  wont  to  ascribe  his  further  success.  He 
was  educated  in  the  excellent  schools  of  his 
native  city,  and  volunteered,  in  order  to  bear 
part  of  the  cost  of  his  education,  to  work  as 
an  apprentice  with  a  friend  of  his  father 
who  was  the  owner  of  a  large  printing-house 
and  bookbindery.  The  practical  bent  of 
his  mind  led  him  to  seek  a  scientific  rather 
than  a  classical  education,  with  a  view  ulti- 
mately of  teaching  in  the  Eealschule,  or  sci- 
entific school,  at  Darmstadt. 

To  this  end  and  with  the  further  object  of 
perfecting  himself  in  French,  he  entered  the 

r 

Ecole  Poly  technique  at  Strasburg,  in  1841; 
but  it  was  here  that  he  felt  what  we  should 
call  a  religious  awakening,  and  a  strong  de- 

[8] 


a  fIDemoir 


sire  to  contribute  liis  mite  to  the  alleviation 
of  human  suffering.  He  left  the  school 
against  the  counsel  of  friends,  and  volun- 
teered as  an  assistant  to  Inspector  Becker, 
the  head  of  the  "Neuhof"  Institution,  a 
well-known  house  of  refuge  about  six  miles 
south  of  Strasburg.  Here  he  remained  more 
than  three  years,  and  was  so  successful  that 
at  the  age  of  twenty  he  became  first  assis- 
tant to  the  Inspector,  and  often,  for  long 
periods  of  time,  had  entire  charge  of  the 
Institution.  Charles  Henry  Zeller,  the  cele- 
brated educator  and  pupil  of  Pestalozzi, 
heard  of  the  young  man,  and  at  his  invita- 
tion Holls  spent  several  months  at  Zeller's 
great  institution  at  Beuggen,  studying  the 
history  and  theory  of  education  under  that 
great  teacher.  Meanwhile  the  experiment 
of  the  "  Rauhe  Haus,"  near  Hamburg,  had 
been  going  on  for  ten  years  and  was 
watched  with  intense  interest  by  young 

[9] 


(5eor0e  Cbarles 


Holls.  He  was  powerfully  attracted  by  the 
plan  of  a  brotherhood  of  Christian  workers, 
and  after  considerable  correspondence,  in 
1846,  he  decided  to  join,  and  was  thus 
brought  into  contact  with  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  men  of  the  age,  and  one  who 
was  to  exert  a  determining  influence  upon 
his  whole  future  life,  Johann  Heinrich 
Wichern,1  who  has  often  been  called  the 
Howard  of  Germany,  but  who  was  even 
more.  At  a  time  when  all  Germany  was 
given  over  to  rationalistic  theology  Wichern 
succeeded  in  awakening  an  interest  in  Home 
Missions  and  Charity  which  has  not  yet  sub- 
sided, and  under  the  influence  of  which  hun- 
dreds of  great  and  important  institutions 
were  established  in  all  parts  of  the  German 
Empire,  and  an  untold  quantity  of  human 
misery  was  relieved.  In  1833  he  had  es- 

1  For  Memoir  and  portrait  of  Dr.  Wichern,  and  description  of 
the  Rough  House,  with  ground-plan  of  the  institution,  see  Bar- 
nard's Journal  of  Education,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  5-20,  603-648. 

[10] 


a  flDemoir 


tablished  that  most  celebrated  of  German 
houses  of  refuge,  the  Rauhe  Haus,  near 
Hamburg,  and  a  few  years  later  he  intro- 
duced into  it  what  has  since  become  famous 
as  the  "  family  system."  This  consisted  in 
dividing  the  inmates  into  so-called  "families" 
of  from  twelve  to  twenty  in  number,  each  in 
a  separate  building,  and  under  the  care  of 
one  or  more  "  brothers,"  and  the  latter  con- 
stituted the  "  Brotherhood  of  the  Rauhe 
Haus."  In  this  way  the  influence  of  the 
teacher  or  educator  was  brought  as  closely 
to  the  child  as  possible,  and  the  latter  was 
taught  to  consider  the  institution,  not  as  bar- 
racks or  a  house  of  detention,  but  as  a  con- 
gregation of  families  of  unfortunate  children 
bound  together  by  natural  affection  and 
under  one  common  head.  The  "brothers" 
were  young  men  of  approved  habits  and 
ability,  who,  without  taking  any  vow  or 
making  any  pledge  to  that  effect,  had  freely 

en] 


(Beorge  Cbarles 


devoted  themselves  to  the  relief  of  the  un- 
fortunate and  who,  in  their  position  as 
"  brothers,"  served  an  apprenticeship,  as  it 
were,  fitting  themselves  to  take  charge,  later 
on,  of  independent  institutions.  Thus  the 
Rauhe  Haus  was  not  only  a  house  of 
refuge  for  destitute  children,  but  also  a 
training  school  for  charity  workers.  Wichern 
was  the  ideal  head  of  such  an  institution. 
A  strong  personality,  fully  equipped  with 
learning  and  ability,  he  was  born  to  impress 
his  views  and  his  enthusiasm  upon  others; 
and  long  before  the  late  President  Garfield 
made  a  similar  remark  concerning  Mark 
Hopkins,  Dr.  Holls,  in  an  address  before 
the  Charities  Convention  in  New  York,  in 
1858,  described  "  a  common  schoolroom  with 
Wichern  at  the  desk  "  as  "  almost  a  com- 
pletely equipped  university."  A  strong 
friendship  immediately  sprang  up  between 
the  two  men,  although  Wichern  was  the 
older  by  sixteen  years. 

[12] 


flfoemoir 


Holls  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  Eauhe 
Haus  with  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  and 
religious  conviction,  and  when,  during  the 
great  famine  of  1849,  the  Prussian  Govern- 
ment applied  to  Wichern  for  "  brothers  "  to 
take  charge  of  the  temporary  governmental 
charities  established  to  relieve  the  terrible 
distress  in  the  province  of  Upper  Silesia, 
Holls,  though  only  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
was  selected  as  the  chief  of  those  sent.  He 
established  four  orphanages,  which  contained, 
before  the  winter  was  over,  upward  of  4000 
children,  and  he  was  indefatigable  in  his  ef- 
forts to  relieve  what  was  probably  the  most 
disastrous  famine  of  this  century  upon  the 
Continent.  At  the  same  time  he  was  actively 
preaching,  and  he  learned  the  Polish  lan- 
guage in  order  to  be  able  to  communicate 
more  readily  with  the  objects  of  charity,  most 
of  whom  understood  no  German.  His  ser- 
vices called  forth  the  highest  encomiums  from 
the  Ministry  of  Public  Worship  and  the  Gov- 

[13] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolte 

ernor-General  of  Silesia,  but  on  account  of 
failing  health  he  was  obliged  to  resign  in 
1850.  He  returned  to  Darmstadt  and  took 
up  the  scientific  course  in  the  highest  classes 
of  the  Realschule  at  the  point  where  he  had 
abandoned  it  in  Strasburg,  supporting  him- 
self meanwhile  by  teaching,  and  helping  to 
create  an  interest  in  Home  Missions  by  lec- 
tures and  the  organization  of  societies  for  the 
purpose  in  the  vicinity.  He  also  visited 
Friedrich  Froebel  at  Blankenburg,  and  was 
ever  after  a  warm  admirer  of  the  kinder- 
garten, though  by  no  means  blind  to  its  de- 
fects, especially  in  the  form  originally  pro- 
posed by  its  author. 

A  sudden  impulse  came  to  him  in  1851 
to  emigrate  to  America,  whither  a  younger 
brother  had  preceded  him,  and  being  con- 
vinced that  he  would  find  in  the  new  world 
a  larger  field  for  his  energies,  he  came  to  this 
country  in  June  of  that  year.  He  traveled 

[14] 


H  flfeemoir 


via  Liverpool,  where  he  closely  inspected 
the  Harbor  Mission,  then  in  successful  opera- 
tion there,  and  this  gave  him  the  first  ideas 
of  the  Emigrant  Mission,  of  which  he  after- 
ward became  so  active  a  promoter  in  New 
York.  He  settled  in  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  and 
engaged  at  once  both  in  learning  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  in  teaching  German  and 
French  at  the  academy  established  there. 
In  the  following  year  he  returned  to  Ger- 
many and  was  married  to  Miss  Louisa  Burx 
at  Darmstadt.  The  newly  married  couple 
settled  at  Pomeroy  and  remained  there  until 
1855,  when  that  eminent  Lutheran  philan- 
thropist, Eev.  William  A.  Passavant,  having 
heard  of  Mr.  Holls,  extended  to  him  a  call 
to  organize  a  large  orphan  asylum  which 
was  to  be  established  at  Zelienople,  Butler 
County,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  the  first 
Lutheran  orphan  asylum  in  this  country,  and 
the  intention  of  the  founders  was  to  intro- 
[15] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolla 

duce,  if  possible,  the  family  system  and  the 
idea  of  home  into  such  an  institution  in  this 
country.  Holls  accepted  the  call  and  re- 
mained at  the  head  of  the  institution  for 
eleven  years. 

At  this  time  the  question  of  juvenile  re- 
form and  the  methods  best  adapted  for  the 
successful  administration  of  reformatories  and 
houses  of  refuge  occupied  the  public  mind  in 
this  country  to  a  considerable  extent.1  The 
success  of  the  family  system  and  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  the  Eauhe  Haus  led  many 
to  hope  that  the  same  results  would  follow 
from  their  introduction  here,  but  the  circum- 
stances were  different,  and  Holls  saw  from 
the  start  that,  unless  certain  fundamental  dif- 
ficulties could  be  overcome,  any  attempt  to 
reproduce  the  German  experiment  on  Amer- 
ican soil  would  be  a  failure.  In  a  letter 

i  "Preventive,  Correctional,  and  Keformatory  Institutions  and 
Agencies."  Kepublished  from  the  American  Journal  of  Education, 
edited  by  Henry  Barnard,  LL.D.,  360  pp.,  Hartford,  1857. 

[16] 


H  fIDemoir 


which  was  published  in  the  American  Jour- 
nal of  Education  for  March,  1858,  vol.  iv, 
p.  824,  he  discussed  the  question  at  some 
length.  Theoretically  he  expressed  a  strong 
preference  for  the  family  over  the  congre- 
gated system,  saying:  "From  what  I  have 
been  able  to  observe  within  the  last  fourteen 
years,  during  which  time  I  have  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  practical  working  of  the 
family  system  in  such  institutions  as  the 
Rauhe  Haus,  the  Neuhof,  near  Strasburg, 
Beuggen  and  Czarkow,  in  Prussian  Poland, 
I  am  prepared  to  say  that  I  am,  in  theory, 
decidedly  in  favor  of  the  family  system,  be- 
ing convinced  that  it  is  the  system  by  which 
houses  of  refuge  and  all  smaller  institutions 
of  a  preventive,  correctional,  and  reforma- 
tory character  ought,  if  possible,  to  be 
managed.  The  natural  ground  for  the  de- 
velopment of  youthful  life  is  in  the  family. 
If  we  were  able  to  trace  back  each  case  of 

[17] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolls 

degradation  and  crime  to  its  original  cause, 
we  would  find  it  to  be,  in  almost  all  cases, 
the  want  of  that  kind,  genial,  winning  influ- 
ence and  discipline  which  parental  govern- 
ment alone  affords.  All  the  children  that 
fill  our  reformatory  institutions  have  been 
more  or  less  destitute  of  a  family  life,  family 
relations,  and  family  discipline  as  it  ought 
to  be  according  to  the  divine  law.  Our  in- 
stitutions, therefore,  ought  to  restore  to  these 
poor  children,  as  far  as  it  can  be  done,  that 
of  which  they  have  been  deprived,  or  at 
least  that  which  they  never  enjoyed,  a  home, 
a  family,  with  all  its  endearments."  But  he 
well  understood  the  peculiar  difficulties  here. 
He  observed :  "  There  are  elements  of  char- 
acter in  the  vicious  and  unfortunate  youth  of 
this  country  which  are  different  from  those 
found  in  Germany.  That  spirit  of  indepen- 
dence which  is  growing  up  with  the  one, 
which  exerts  such  a  powerful  influence  over 

[18] 


H  fIDemoir 


his  character,  and  which,  when  wrongfully 
applied,  leads  him  not  only  to  defy  the  laws 
and  regulations  of  society  but  also  to  repel 
all  efforts  made  by  others  to  correct  him,  is 
at  least  to  a  considerable  degree,  unknown  to 
the  other,  who  is  sooner  taught  to  submit. 
It  would,  therefore,  require  greater  efforts  to 
exercise  that  influence  over  the  youth  in  this 
country  which  should  lead  him  to  a  truly 
religious  reformation;  but,  believing  in  the 
almighty  power  of  the  Word  of  God,  the 
happy  effects  produced  by  a  kind,  just,  and 
firm  treatment,  by  continual  personal  inter- 
course with  these  children  on  the  part  of  the 
house  father,  the  elder  brother  or  sister,  I 
believe  that  these  efforts  might  be  crowned 
with  equal  success  here  as  elsewhere.  But 
the  most  important  difficulty  that  presents 
itself  to  my  mind  in  introducing  the  family, 
as  existing  in  the  Eauhe  Haus,  into  this 
country,  is  the  great  want  of  competent  per- 
[19] 


(Seorge  Cbarles  Ibolls 

sons  to  take  charge  of  these  families.  .  .  . 
Without  these  the  system  must  necessarily 
prove  a  failure.  Classes  of  fifty  or  more 
children  are  no  families.  If  we  intend  to 
produce  the  greatest  amount  of  good  to  our 
children  individually  by  the  family  system, 
these  families  must  be  small — say  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  each.  Are  suitable  persons  obtain- 
able here,  and  if  so,  how  ?  Can  it  be  done 
without  paying  high  salaries  ?  These  ques- 
tions have  occupied  my  mind  for  a  long  time. 
Persons  in  view  ought  to  be  truly  religious 
in  sentiment  and  character,  who  would  con- 
sider it  to  be  their  duty  to  devote  their  life- 
time and  talents  to  this  particular  work.  We 
must,  therefore,  waive  the  idea  of  enlisting 
persons  into  this  service  who  would  do  it  for 
the  sake  of  a  temporary  employment,  or  in 
order  to  make  a  living.  We  must  have  mis- 
sionaries to  labor  among  the  heathen  in  the 
midst  of  our  Christian  community.  You 

[20] 


a  fIDemoir 


will  have  noticed  that  in  my  letter  to  the 
Hon.  0.  S.  Strong  of  New  York  I  suggested 
the  idea  of  establishing  a  normal  school  in 
connection  with  one  of  the  larger  houses  of 
refuge  where  the  family  system  was  to  be 
introduced.  My  plan  would  be,  that  either 
the  State  government  or  a  private  society 
(the  latter  would  be  preferable)  should  fur- 
nish the  means  to  pay  for  the  instruction, 
boarding,  and  simple  raiment  of  such  young 
men  as  would  be  willing  to  enter  under  the 
proper  conditions.  .  .  .  One  of  the  main  con- 
ditions, upon  the  happy  realization  of  which 
the  whole  success  of  the  Rauhe  Haus  de- 
pends, does  not  consist  in  having  a  number 
of  competent  persons,  some  of  whom  are 
teaching,  others  superintending,  others  again 
directing  the  technical  affairs  of  the  house, 
but  it  consists  in  having  men,  every  one  of 
whom  unites  all  those  faculties  within  him- 
self, and  who,  thus  prepared,  work  together 

[21] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Tbolls 

in  the  same  spirit,  having  always  in  view 
the  one  main  object  of  the  w^hole  and  the 
particular  question  which  has  to  be  solved  in 
and  by  each  individual.  Neither  of  the  two 
institutions,  the  House  of  Eefuge  nor  the 
Brotherhood,  could  exist  without  the  other. 
.  .  .  This  field  of  labor  is  comparatively  new 
in  this  country ;  it  ought,  therefore,  to  be  dis- 
cussed on  all  sides.  The  veil  which  yet  con- 
ceals the  great  dangers  threatening  from 
below  should  be  lifted,  and  the  Christian 
community  aroused  to  meet  those  dangers, 
not  only  with  dollars  and  cents,  but  by  giv- 
ing the  heart  and  at  least  part  of  a  lifetime 
to  this  great  cause  before  it  shall  be  too 
late." 

The  difficulty  of  finding  proper  men  as 
brothers  or  helpers  proved  insurmountable 
at  Zelienople.  Holls  even  made  the  experi- 
ment of  sending  for  six  young  men  from  the 
Rauhe  Haus  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  new 
[22] 


a  flDemoir 


brotherhood,  but  not  one  of  them  proved 
competent  or  willing  to  continue  the  work 
here  under  the  same  conditions  as  in  Germany. 

The  idea  of  a  true  home  for  the  unfortu- 
nate, on  the  other  hand,  was  established  by 
Dr.  Holls  in  this  institution  and  in  one  of 
which  he  subsequently  was  the  head,  near 
New  York,  perhaps  more  successfully  than 
has  ever  been  done  before.  At  his  sugges- 
tion a  rule  was  adopted  permitting  discharged 
inmates  of  the  institution  to  return  at  any 
time  in  after  life,  if  unfortunate,  ill,  or  out  of 
work.  This  gave  to  every  child  the  idea  of 
a  permanent  home,  and  it  was  reinforced  by 
the  homelike  character  of  the  discipline  and 
house  government. 

In  1866  Dr.  Passavant,  in  connection 
with  the  late  Peter  Holier  of  New  York 
City,  established  the  Wartburg  Orphan 
Farm  School  near  Mount  Vernon,  New 
York,  and  Dr.  Holls,  who  had  meanwhile 
[23] 


(Seorge  Cbarles  Tbolle 

entered  the  Lutheran  ministry  and  risen 
to  a  position  of  high  honor  and  command- 
ing influence  in  the  Church,  was  called 
to  organize  the  new  institution.  This  he 
did,  having  succeeded  in  finding  assistants 
whom  he  imbued  with  his  own  spirit  and 
principles,  and  thus  the  Wartburg  became 
the  best  example  of  his  practical  work  of 
charity.  It  was  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word  a  home  for  the  friendless  and  destitute, 
on  the  idea  that  small  institutions  of  not  more 
than  from  seventy-five  to  eighty-five  inmates, 
and  imbued  with  the  family  spirit,  are  far 
more  important  and  ''successful"  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word  in  the  general  work  of 
charity  than  large  institutions  with  perhaps 
hundreds  of  children  under  one  general  drill. 
Great  stress  was  laid  upon  the  cultivation  of 
a  taste  for  music  and  for  innocent  games  and 
amusements  on  the  part  of  the  children.  Dr. 
Holls  was  himself  a  thorough  master  of  vocal 

[24] 


H  fIDemoir 


and  choral  music,  and  never  neglected  an 
opportunity  of  impressing  its  importance  as 
an  educational  agency  upon  his  assistants. 
In  the  judgment  of  the  best  authorities  upon 
the  subject,  both  the  farm  school  at  Zelie- 
nople  and  the  Wartburg  near  Mount  Vernon 
were  model  institutions. 

Thoughtful  men  came  from  afar  to  study 
the  working  of  these  charities,  and  the  writer 
does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  the  days  of 
Dr.  Holls'  administration  the  Wartburg  was 
the  most  admirable  and  perfect  institution  of 
its  kind  of  which  he  has  ever  known.  Dr. 
Holls  was,  of  course,  aware  of  the  difficulty, 
in  the  face  of  the  pressing  needs  of  the  day, 
of  multiplying  similar  institutions,  and  in- 
deed of  the  practical  impossibility  of  continu- 
ing the  Wartburg  system  indefinitely.  The 
true  and  permanent  value  of  the  latter  was 
in  fixing  a  standard,  indirectly  even  for 
larger  institutions,  as  well  as  in  affording  the 

[25] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolte 

best    possible    training-school    for    charity 
workers. 

Dr.  Holls  came  to  this  country  in  advance 
of  the  great  tide  of  German  immigration 
which  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has 
had  such  a  determining  influence  upon  our 
national  characteristics.  He  foresaw  the  re- 
sult of  so  great  an  influx  of  foreigners  into 
this  country,  and,  as  early  as  1858,  raised 
his  voice  in  favor  of  the  speedy  Americani- 
zation of  immigrants  by  education  as  the  best 
and  only  possible  remedy  for  the  manifold 
evils  which  would  otherwise  ensue.  No 
adopted  citizen  has  loved  this  country  more, 
and  few  have  become  so  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  its  institutions  and  its  pecu- 
liar civilization.  In  impressing  his  views 
upon  his  countrymen,  he  was,  however,  far 
in  advance  of  German-American  popular 
sentiment,  and  he  often  suffered  under  the 
insinuation  of  having  too  little  pride  in  the 

[26] 


a  flDemoir 


land  of  his  birth,  and  no  regard  for  the  in- 
terests and  language  of  his  own  people.  This 
charge  was,  of  course,  absurd.  For  a  person 
of  his  very  strong  American  sentiment,  Dr. 
Holls  was  most  active  in  seeking  to  impress 
the  good  characteristics  of  German  thought 
and  German  civilization  upon  the  social, 
and  especially  upon  the  religious,  life  of 
this  country.  In  an  address  before  Ger- 
man-American teachers,  speaking  of  paro- 
chial schools  in  Columbus  in  1858,  he  said : 
"  We  hear  much  of  the  so-called  mission 
of  the  Germans  in  America.  In  my  opinion, 
the  first  mission  of  the  Germans  in  this  coun- 
try is  to  become  Americans,  and  by  that  I 
mean  that  it  is  their  duty,  as  well  as  their 
privilege,  to  enter  deeply,  heartily,  and  with 
all  the  fervor  and  steadfastness  of  Teutonic 
manhood  into  the  current  of  American  reli- 
gious, political,  and  social  life.  There  is  no 
room  in  this  country  for  a  German  nation 
[27] 


Cbarles  Tbolte 


besides  the  American  nation,  and,  if  there 
were,  neither  this  country  nor  the  Germans 
would  be  the  gainers  by  the  establishment 
of  one.  It  is  the  greatest  possible  mistake, 
and  one  which  I  regret  to  say  is  often  made 
in  the  fatherland,  to  think  that  by  the  emi- 
gration of  so  many  of  her  sons  Germany  is 
weakened,  and  vast  numbers  are  lost  to  Ger- 
man thought  and  feeling.  That  which  is 
best  in  German  thought  and  feeling  is,  on 
the  contrary,  rejuvenated  and  strengthened, 
and  receives  a  new  lease  of  life  in  a  wider 
and  grander  sphere  by  being  absorbed  in  and 
becoming  part  of  the  thought  and  feeling  of 
this  nation,  which  is  the  people  of  the  future 
as  certainly  as  European  nations  may  be 
called  the  people  of  the  past.  I  would  even 
go  further,  and  maintain  that  the  only  ground 
upon  which  the  establishment  and  spread  of 
German  churches,  German  schools,  and  Ger- 
man periodicals  in  this  country  can  be  justi- 

[28] 


/-  r> 

# 

H  flfcemoir  ((  UNIVERSITY 

OF 


fied  is  that  they  accelerate,  instead 
ing,  the  process  of  absorption,  which  is  as 
useful  as  it  is  inevitable,  whatever  may  be 
said  to  the  contrary."  He  then  proceeded 
to  prove  the  necessity  of  this  absorption,  and 
the  hopelessness  of  all  ideas  of  a  separate 
permanent  German  community  in  this  coun- 
try, by  showing  how  every  nation,  in  order 
to  retain  its  national  characteristics,  requires 
the  exclusive  possession  of  a  country.  He 
claimed  that  only  by  constant  reinforcement 
from  abroad,  by  further  immigration,  could 
the  German  language  be  maintained  even 
for  daily  intercourse  among  Germans  them- 
selves, because  all  experience  showed  that 
the  second  generation  knew  little  or  nothing 
of  their  fathers'  language,  while  the  third 
was  thoroughly  American.  We  regret  ex- 
ceedingly that  no  complete  report  of  this 
able  address  has  been  published,  in  which 
the  soundness  of  the  arguments  advanced  is 

[29] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Tbolte 

no  less  remarkable  than  the  foresight  dis- 
played for  the  problems  which  then  were 
only  in  the  future,  but  which  are  now  present 
and  of  vital  importance. 

Dr.  Holls  strongly  opposed  the  custom, 
which  even  now  exists  in  many  German 
parochial  schools  in  this  country,  of  teaching 
European  and  especially  German  history 
more  thoroughly  than  the  history  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  using  school-books 
published  in  Germany  and  imbued  with  the 
monarchical  spirit  of  that  country.  Of  the 
American  public-school  system  he  was  a 
warm  friend  and  unflinching  advocate,  in 
spite  of  much  narrow-minded  opposition 
within  the  boundaries  of  his  own  Church. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Lutheran  Synod,  to 
which  he  belonged,  held  in  Brooklyn  in 
1877,  a  committee  representing  the  fanatical 
sectarian  view  presented  a  report  denouncing 
public  schools  as  "  pagan,"  and  speaking  of 

[30] 


H  fIDemoir 


them  in  terms  no  less  harsh  than  those  em- 
ployed by  Jesuits.  This  called  forth  deter- 
mined denunciation  and  opposition  from  Dr. 
Holls,  who  took  the  bold  ground  that,  how- 
ever beneficial  parochial  schools  might  be  in 
many  localities,  and  especially  in  view  of  the 
necessity  of  hastening  the  transformation  of 
Germans  into  Americans,  the  public-school 
system,  as  such,  was  more  important  for  the 
welfare  of  this  country  and  for  the  welfare  of 
all  the  churches  themselves  than  all  parochial 
schools  could  ever  be.  The  narrow  and  ex- 
treme views  at  the  time  prevailed,  but  the 
agitation  against  the  public  schools  has 
greatly  waned  since  that  time,  and  may 
almost  be  said  to  be  extinct. 

Dr.  Holls  was  equally  in  advance  of  his 
time,  so  far  as  German- Americans  are  con- 
cerned, in  his  opposition  to  the  teaching  of 
the  German  language  in  the  public  schools. 
His  reasoning  was  the  same  as  that  advanced 
[31] 


(Seorge  Cbarles  Ibolls 

in  favor  of  the  rapid  absorption  of  the  immi- 
grants into  the  body  politic.  But  at  the  same 
time  he  urged  all  Germans  to  continue  the 
use  of  their  native  tongue  at  home  so  as  to 
give  the  second  generation  the  enormous  ad- 
vantage of  the  perfect  command  of  two  lan- 
guages. His  own  son  was  thus  taught 
German  before  he  learned  English ;  but  the 
German  language  was  used  to  convey  the 
lessons  of  United  States  history  and  of  the 
principles  of  this  government  into  the  child's 
mind,  thus  carefully  distinguishing  between 
useless  foreign  prejudices  and  the  acquire- 
ment of  a  foreign  language  of  incalculable 
practical  value. 

In  all  his  endeavors  in  this  direction  Dr. 
Holls  was  prompted  and  greatly  assisted  by 
his  wife,  to  whom  this  passing  tribute  is 
justly  due,  even  in  so  brief  a  memoir.  Her- 
self a  woman  of  unusual  intellectual  power, 
Mrs.  Holls  clearly  saw  the  duties  of  educated 

[32] 


a  flDemoir 


German- Americans,  especially  of  such  as  oc- 
cupied conspicuous  positions  in  the  Church, 
and  the  charm  of  her  conversation  was  such 
that  her  influence  was  felt  by  a  very  wide 
circle  of  acquaintance,  and  her  example  was 
of  the  highest  value.  Adding  the  motherly 
element  to  the  great  charity  work  of  her 
husband,  with  all  the  grace  and  sweetness  of 
sincere  and  unassuming  piety,  it  may  indeed 
be  said  of  her:  "Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her 
hands ;  and  let  her  own  works  praise  her  in 
the  gates." 

Upon  his  removal  to  New  York,  Dr.  Holls' 
field  of  labor  was,  of  course,  greatly  enlarged. 
He  was  a  constant  contributor  to  the  re- 
ligious journals  of  his  Church  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  for  some  years  occupied  the  po- 
sition of  secretary  for  foreign  correspondence 
of  the  American  Christian  Commission.  As 
such  he  was  in  constant  communication  with 
the  leaders  of  charity  work  in  England, 
[33] 


(Beorge  Cbarles  Ibolls 

France,  Germany,  and  Scandinavia,  and  his 
influence  was  largely  instrumental  in  assist- 
ing the  late  Dr.  E.  C.  Wines  in  organizing 
the  International  Prison  Congresses.  To- 
gether with  Dr.  Wines,  Horatio  Seymour, 
Francis  Lieber,  and  Louis  D.  Pillsbury,  he 
was  active  in  the  work  of  prison  reform  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  and  the  only  political 
work  of  his  later  years  consisted  in  his  efforts 
to  secure  the  passage  of  the  constitutional 
amendment  which,  by  abolishing  elective 
superintendents  of  State  prisons,  wrought 
such  a  beneficial  change  in  prison  manage- 
ment. He  was  a  regular  contributor  to 
Barnard's  American  Journal  of  Education, 
and,  together  with  the  late  Dr.  Linus  P. 
Brockett,  translated  several  German  educa- 
tional classics,  notably  Eaumer's  "  Geschichte 
der  Padagogik,"  for  that  periodical.  It  was 
his  intention  to  write  a  comprehensive  work 
on  "  Inner  Missions,"  treating  of  the  various 

[34] 


H  flDemoir 


problems  of  charity  work  in  America  from 
the  religious  point  of  view,  but  in  a  scientific 
and  practical  manner;  but  the  steadily  in- 
creasing demands  on  his  time  prevented  the 
carrying  out  of  this  idea,  and  thus  deprived 
our  literature  of  a  work  which  is  greatly 
needed,  and  which  no  man  was  more  com- 
petent to  write. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enlarge  upon  Dr. 
Holls'  activity  as  a  preacher  and  theologian. 
He  steadily  emphasized  the  sociological  fea- 
tures of  religious  activity,  and  the  results  of 
his  labors  in  this  direction  may  be  seen 
throughout  the  country  in  numerous  hospi- 
tals, orphanages,  homes  for  the  aged,  and 
asylums  for  various  classes  of  unfortunates, 
established  largely  through  his  influence  and 
the  force  of  his  example.  In  his  Church  he 
occupied  various  positions  of  dignity  and  in- 
fluence, and  his  activity  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  establishing  the  Emigrant  Mission 

[35] 


(Beorge  Cbarlee  Ibolla 

in  New  York,  which,  in  its  various  branches, 
is  now  one  of  the  glories  of  Lutheranism  in 
America.  Holding  active  works  of  charity 
in  far  higher  esteem  than  dogmatical  ac- 
curacy and  niceties  of  doctrine,  his  last  days 
were  embittered  by  offensive  and  distasteful 
theological  disputes ;  but  he  courageously  up- 
held his  own  views,  the  influence  of  which 
is  even  now  felt  in  every  direction  in  the 
Church  of  his  adoption.  In  1883  he  had  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy,  and  after  that  time  his 
health  failed  rapidly.  The  trustees  of  the 
institution  urged  him  to  postpone  his  resig- 
nation as  long  as  the  physician  held  out  any 
hopes  of  convalescence,  but  in  August,  1885, 
the  case  was  seen  to  be  hopeless,  and,  as  it 
was  aggravated  by  an  equally  serious  and 
painful  illness  of  his  wife,  he  resigned  and 
moved  to  Mount  Vernon,  to  the  house  of 
his  only  son,  Frederick  William  Holls,  Esq., 
of  the  New  York  bar,  where  everything  that 

[36] 


H  flDemoir 


filial  piety  could  do  for  his  comfort  and  medi- 
cal skill  and  nursing  for  his  relief  was  done. 
He  lingered  for  more  than  a  year,  but  the 
end  came  on  August  12,  1886.  His  wife 
survived  him  less  than  five  months,  dying 
January  6,  1887. 

Dr.  Holls'  general  character  and  worth 
are  seen  in  his  life-work,  and  little  more  need 
be  said.  Dr.  Passavant,  who  knew  him 
most  intimately,  in  an  obituary  sketch  says : 
"  To  do  justice  to  the  character  and  life-work 
of  the  deceased  in  brief  limits  is  simply  im- 
possible. For  nearly  thirty  years  it  has  been 
our  privilege  to  be  associated  with  him  in  the 
most  intimate  relations  of  friendship  and  offi- 
cial intercourse,  and  we  know  not  which  to 
admire  most,  his  goodness  or  his  greatness, 
as  evinced  in  his  absolute  submission  to  the 
authority  of  the  Divine  Word,  his  renuncia- 
tion of  all  personal  merit,  and  his  implicit 
trust  for  salvation  in  the  righteousness  of 

[37] 


(Seorge  Cbarlee  Ibolls 

Christ  Jesus  his  Saviour.  A  great  reader 
and  thinker,  a  scholar,  a  teacher,  a  philan- 
thropist, who,  while  he  gave  his  first  thought 
to  the  care  and  instruction  of  the  orphans, 
was  yet  alive  to  every  form  of  rescuing 
mercy,  and  withal  an  able  Christian  minister, 
who  fed  the  flock  which  Christ  had  pur- 
chased with  His  own  blood  —  in  all  these 
aspects  and  relations  Dr.  Holls  was  a  most 
unusual  and  superior  personage.  His  growth 
in  thought  and  general  knowledge  was  ex- 
celled only  by  his  familiarity  with  Christian 
doctrine ;  and  strength  and  manliness,  with 
the  grace  of  charity,  were  the  adornments 
of  his  character." 

He  was  a  bitter  enemy  of  cant,  and  of  the 
airs  of  sanctimonious  unction  which  are  so 
often  connected  with  the  dispensation  of 
charity.  Uniting  gentleness  and  firmness  to 
a  rare  degree,  and  never,  in  his  days  of 
health,  losing  for  a  moment  his  perfect  self- 

[38] 


flDemoir 


control,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he  was 
"an  educator  by  the  grace  of  God." 

His  memory  will  be  blessed  by  thousands, 
and  we  deem  it  a  great  privilege  to  include, 
in  the  closing  volume  of  the  American 
Journal  of  Education,  this  tribute  to  the 
beneficent  labors  of  an  educator  and  a  most 
valued  friend  and  adviser,  with  whom  we 
became  acquainted,  by  correspondence,  near 
the  time  the  first  number  went  to  press  — 
now  forty  years  ago. 


[39] 


YC  03428 


